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Lists
It seems like we are making a lot of lists lately. We’re making lists because we’re making plans. Making plans can be fun, but the hard part is knowing how much is too much to schedule and how wide one can cast their net. One risk is becoming over-extended later on. Will I be able to effectively follow through on what I start? Will I be able to give enough attention to a project such that I fulfill the expectations of others? What surprises will show up to complicate things?
Another risk of making plans is becoming too attached to the expectations that we create for ourselves. What if my well-conceived plans don’t match what God has planned?
Given that we are in this moment of planning, we are going to share some lists that give you a picture of what we’re thinking through right now. The first is a list of significant events that have taken place since our last update.
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- Early August: Our kids began their school year. Kristin (grade 7) is now at Rain Forest International School along with Noah (grade 9). Ben is in grade 5 this year.
- Mid-August: I [Chris] led scripture songwriting workshops in Kribi, Cameroon and Bata, Equatorial Guinea. In Kribi we had representatives from two language groups of the South Region of Cameroon. In Equatorial Guinea, we had participants from five language groups. It was a week of learning and adventure, to be sure! This video gives a short taste of some moments from the workshops.
- September 5: The Makaa New Testament Dedication took place in Abong-Mbang, Cameroon. The event was very nicely done and we were happy to be there to celebrate. Our Makaa friends were thrilled to finally have the New Testament in their mother tongue. It was also a special moment for our friends Dan and Theresa Heath to see this major milestone after more than thirty years of working among the Makaa people. Since the dedication, the audio version has been released as well as a new smartphone app. This video gives an overview of the dedication.
- September 14: I was the featured weekly guest on The Missionary Podcast. This link will take you to the entire 30 minute interview.
- Late October: Our whole family worked on a project to produce recorded dialogues in English for a Multi-Lingual Education curriculum that our literacy department is involved with. I did the recording and all of us were voice actors.
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(L) Noah and Kristin in our makeshift recording studio made from mattresses and couch cushions in Kristin's room. (R) Ben's first day of 5th grade.
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Makaa women getting their first look at the New Testament in their language.
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(L) Benga women working on a song text. (R) One of my fellow passengers while crossing the Ntem river between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon.
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Next is a list of fairly concrete projects and other plans to take place between now and our departure for furlough in June 2016.
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- November – May: I will be making frequent visits (about twice per month, 2-3 days per visit) to the village of Bangwé to document the dying craft of a Makaa instrument maker. He makes and plays the Kúl, a log drum that was used to send messages from village to village via a rhythmic language. This is to fulfill a research permit that was granted by the Cameroon Ministry of Scientific Research and Innovation. The preliminary report is due to the government near the end of May 2016.
- December: I am enrolled in Sharpening Your Interpersonal Skills, a five-day course being taught here at the SIL center in Cameroon. This course is an important component for my development as an Arts Consultant.
- January or February: One-week Scripture Songwriting Workshop in the East Region. We haven’t finalized a date, but I’m thankful that we’re planning it in dry season!
- January or February: Recording sessions in the South Region. A village chorale in the Iyassa language group is very interested in preserving their traditional music and would like to record as soon as possible.
- March: SIL Cameroon Branch Conference. This is the one time each year when all of the personnel in our organization in Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea come together for annual meetings.
- April: Retreat in the UK. One of our supporting churches is inviting and sponsoring all of their missionaries based in Europe and Africa to meet together in England to re-energize.
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A view of the beach in the village of Ebodje, South Region. This Iyassa speaking community is eager to record their traditional music in the coming months.
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Next is a list of projects that are either in the idea phase or in their infancy. These are ideas that we need to assess and develop in the next few months.
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- Makaa language materials for radio broadcast. There are several small books of Makaa histories and short stories that have been published over the past twenty years in an effort to promote literacy. In order to renew enthusiasm for these materials and Makaa literacy classes, we will explore the idea of recording these stories along with local music for radio programming in the region. If it is well received, it could lead to other projects such as Biblical radio dramas in the Makaa language.
- Makaa alphabet song. We will be searching for someone to create a song that can be used to teach and also serve as a publicity tool to generate enthusiasm for literacy courses in the East Region.
- Mvet song/storying research. Mvet is a musical storying form using wisdom poetry that was common from central Cameroon southward into Gabon. This art form is dying off with the older generation. I have had discussions with people in the Fang and Bulu language areas that would like to see Mvet documented, preserved, and infused with Biblical content. There is significant motivation in both Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea to explore the possibilities with Mvet.
- Yaoundé composers collective. For the last 6 weeks, I have been meeting with a group of about 25 musicians from a local church that are interested in writing new scripture songs. We have recently begun to discuss the possibility of recording the new compositions and sharing them with like-minded churches throughout the region. The level of enthusiasm is high in this group and they will be limited only by their creativity!
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After a couple of weeks of composing a song together in class, this group sang their composition for their peers.
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Some of the books that are available in the Makaa language.
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The final list is things that need to happen during our furlough beginning in June 2016. I believe that this list is bound to grow in the next few months.
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- Attend Wycliffe Connect. Wycliffe Connect is a week-long program for groups of Wycliffe/SIL missionary families returning from the field to debrief and process their experiences together at the Wycliffe headquarters in Florida.
- Visits to churches in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, and Texas. There will be a lot of work involved in fabricating a schedule for all of this travel! Let us know if you would like us to schedule a visit to your church, small group, or missions conference.
- Visits to family and friends in Virginia, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida, Tennessee, and Texas…and maybe some others. It will be three years worth of visits crammed into 12 months.
- I will need to take at least two courses at the Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics in Dallas: Arts in Trauma Healing and Scripture Engagement.
- Partnership Development. We will need to augment our budget a bit considering that all three of our kids will be at Rain Forest International School when we return to Cameroon in 2017. We will also need to raise funds for some additional recording equipment and editing software as well as a few modifications to our vehicle for accessing more remote areas.
- Visit some colleges for Noah. I can’t believe I typed that, but it’s true. Although Noah will only be in 10th grade during our year in the US, it will likely be the only opportunity to visit some campuses before he finishes high school. We certainly won’t pressure him to choose something so soon, but we want him to at least look at a few places while we have the chance.
- Take a family vacation.
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As mechanical as this set of lists might be, it is an overview of where our thoughts are lately. We covet your prayers as we make lists and wait for the Lord to transform lives.
Thank you, as always, for your prayer and financial partnership.
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Our overseas mailing address:
Chris & Lori Gassler
SIL BP 1299
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Email: clgassler@gmail.com
Blog: gasslers.blogspot.com
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Wycliffe Bible Translators
PO Box 628200
Orlando, FL 32862-8200
Wycliffe Bible Translators, USA accepts tax deductible donations by mail at the above address or at www.wycliffe.org. If donating by mail, please include a separate note indicating a "Preference for the Wycliffe ministry of Chris & Lori Gassler, account no. 248482." You may also donate to the Gasslers' Wycliffe ministry account online.
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